Enter: The Cosmos
by Clockwork Imagination
Summary: Jedi lost! After crash landing on an uncharted planet, Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi Wan and their Clone Trooper companions, Captain Rex and Kameron, struggle to survive in the untamed wild. To make matters worse, the Separatists are hot on their trail!
1. Crashed And Lost

Kameron sat alone in the passenger's seating room in the small spacecraft that was carrying him, some other troopers, and three Jedi back to Coruscant from a fierce battle on Ryloth. Kam was a trooper fresh from the training grounds of the cloning facility, having only just finished training with his squad, and this was his first battle. He'd expected it to be pretty tough, but he had NEVER figured on ANYTHING like this. It was insane. Pure madness.

The screams, the sounds of gunfire screeching overhead, the deafening explosions.. It was all too much. In fact, he had even once been petrified in shock despite his vigorous training and had been saved by one of the Jedi. He still needed to thank her for it... As if on cue, the sliding doors to the cockpit of the ship opened up and Ahsoka walked in. She smiled at the dirty disgruntled trooper, knowing how hard those first battles always were.

"You alright?" She asked, coming over to sit beside him. He looked up at her from his slouched position and forced himself to smile weakly.

"No, but I will be." He murmured softly. Ahsoka leaned back and crossed her arms, trying to relax.

"You were brave, especially since it's your first time out there." She commented quietly, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. He glanced back at her and tried to sound confident as he replied,

"It doesn't matter, I'd still be dead if you hadn't rescued me.. The words 'thank you' just don't seem to be enough." He failed to sound confident, but Ahsoka didn't seem to care. She looked at him and smiled softly, opening her mouth to say something but was interrupted when the ship jolted very sharply, then suddenly did what seemed to them to be a barrel roll. Ahsoka's eyes were wide with surprise as the two of them both fell from their seats and tumbled across the floor of the room to hit the wall on the other side. Kameron landed upside down, his head and shoulders on the floor and his back against the wall, and Ahsoka fell on her side. Neither were hurt too badly since Ahsoka had kept her wits about her enough to cushion their falls with the Force rather sloppily. For a few moments they just lay there and stared at eachother with blank looks, breathing heavily. Then Ahsoka struggled to her feet and helped Kam up from his awkward position before running to the doors to the cockpit. Kameron followed her, arriving shortly after to a chaotic scene. The two Troopers that were driving the ship were frantically trying to get the vehicle under control. Outside the front window was complete chaos; two other small ships with the Seperatist symbol painted onto them were coming at them, shooting repeatedly at the wings and engine. Kameron gripped the side of the doorway and shut his mouth tight for fear that he might lose the contents of his stomach as the ship suddenly veered off right very sharply. All of this was making him feel ill.

"Rex! The hyperdrive!" Anakin yelled over the commotion, and Captain Rex, who was behind the controls, snapped a sharp reply,

"Forget that! We're going down, the engine is fried! We have to crash land somewhere." The warning siren began to go off as a small explosion in the engiene rocked the ship. Obi-wan was bracing himself between the wall and one of the chairs, but was able to shout over the noise,

"Then veer toward that planet!" He pointed out of the window quickly. Sure enough there was a beautiful green and cerulean planet very close by. They were hovering nearly right over it. Rex did as he had been told and, not without difficulty, the ship began to lower itself slowly.

"Easy does it, if we go too fast the whole thing'll fall apart in the shift." Rex warned the other trooper helping him as the ship finally broke into the atmosphere, but little good it did when a final shot from the enemy blew the engine to smithereens. Everyone let out a small scream as the ship plummeted downward, smoke beginning to fly from the engine. Space grew farther away and the thick jungle trees of the planet grew closer rapidly. Soon the leaves were even distiguishable, swaying and fluttering about as the ship's speed ruffled the wind.

"Pull up! Pull up!" Anakin shouted to the two Troopers, but Rex was already pulling back on the steering mechanism as far as he could, trying to get the ship to at least tilt a bit and hit the ground a little at a time.

"I... Can't!" He cried, his arms beginning to shake. "Everyone get strapped in and keep your fingers crossed, we're going to hit the ground hard!" He finished and Kameron held a hand out to Ahsoka to help her back into the passengers' quarters, then Anakin, and finally Obi-wan. Kameron was only just able to get buckled in before the ship was jolted violently as it made first contact with the ground. The thudding noises on either side of them as the ship sped through the trees, grazing them as it went was simply deafening. Then it happened. The ship went thundering to the ground with an earth shattering crash, and snapped in half, seperating the cockpit from the rest of the vehicle. The second half hit last, hitting the ground equally hard and rolling a few times. Kameron held on to his safety belts tightly, trying to surpress a scream that was welling up in his gut. He did not hesitate to let it out, however, when one of his saftey belts snapped and he tumbled across the room and out the open gap where the cockpit had once been. Everything around him spun violently, his world blurring and spinning until he finally hit the ground on his back. He lay there, stunned, blankly watching the rest of the ship bounce and skid across the ground, missing him by only feet. It kept going until it hit a rather large tree and was brought to a stop. Kameron shook his head to quell the dizziness, but suddenly felt a sharp wrench in his belly and rolled over just in time, vomiting on the ground. For a moment he crouched there, shaking, but knew he was going to pass out, so he forced himself onto his back and promptly did.

Obi-wan was the first to emerge from the smouldering wreckage of the ship's remains. He coughed a few times as he hopped down dizzily. Ahsoka and Anakin followed, equally as dizzy, but all three were quick to shake it off. Ahsoka, however, was the first one to actually look around and was in awe for a breif moment at the majesty of the enourmous trees and fern-like plants growig in the undergrowth. Huge grey green fungi, oozing a clear, luminous liquid grew at the bases and on the trunks of some of the trees, and a blanket of lush green tentacle like grass covered the ground, the only exception being where the ship had landed and skidded. The smashed grass seemed to be regrowing already though, and all of it moved with a life all its own, swaying despite the fact that there was no breeze, and curling up where the Jedi stepped, moving out of the way of their feet.

"Where in the _Galaxy_ are we...?" Anakin suddenly spoke, looking around in confused wonder. "I've never seen a planet like this.." Ahsoka's gaze roamed across the strangely animated grass, but soon fell upon Kameron, still lying on his back. The grass around him was curled up and parted.

"Master, over there!" She immediately started toward him, kneeling down beside the Trooper... She was careful not to touch the mess he'd left in the process.

"Anakin, go look for Captain Rex and his partner, I will help Ahsoka." Obi-wan said, and Anakin nodded, running off toward where the other piece of the ship had landed. Obi-wan then knelt down beside Ahsoka and checked the unconcious Kameron over for injuries.

"It's amazing he's even still alive after that..." He commented under his breath, and Ahsoka let herself smile a bit in releif. It happened all too often that she would create some kind of a friendship with one of the Troopers, and they would get killed. She found herself thinking that even if that hadn't killed him, it was only a matter of time. All Troopers were made for was to die anyway.. She was brought out of her thoughts when Kameron started to wake up, opening one eye slightly and groaning.

"Nnhhh... What happened..?" He asked, trying to sit up, not without effort. "Where are we?" He asked again, less weakly.

"Welcome back." Obi-wan said a little wryly, and sat back in the grass, crossing his legs. "Well, our ship crashed and now we're in the middle of nowhere." His joke was dry, mostly since even he was having a hard time finding humor in this situation. It was about as bleak as a Tatooine landscape. Ahsoka helped Kam sit up straight and sighed.

"Well, we have to make the best of it, I guess, until someone finds us.."

Anakin trudged through the thick grass and undergrowth, his hand on his lightsaber at all times, just in case. He kept walking until he reached the small crater amidst the trees where the cockpit had landed. It was nearly blown to smithereens, with pieces of the engine and the outer metal of the ship broken off and lying about. Anakin spotted Rex almost instantly though, trapped underneath a stray piece of the ship.

"Rex! Are you alright?" He called, trotting down the sharp slope of the crater and over to the Trooper. Rex was just barely able to turn his head, still concealed by his helmet, toward Anakin. The Jedi could tell immediately that he wasn't in good shape. He crouched down by the Trooper's side and examined how badly he'd been crushed by the metal debris.

The damage was bad. Among the minor injuries such as sprained joints, and small cuts and bruises that were to be expected, the worst was a huge open wound on his thigh. A sharp part had broken off and bent inward, gouging into his upper thigh and coming out of the other side; The full weight of the metal was resting on his hips, threatening to crush them if it wasn't removed soon. The cut was terrible, and Anakin could see crimson blood seeping through the cracked white armor.

"General... Skywalker.." His voice sounded heavy and thick with agony. Anakin grimaced, feeling a burning concern in his stomach.

"Damn it..." He managed to mumble, wiping his forehead with the back of one gloved hand. "It's.. It's going to be okay, just hold still. I'm going to get you out of there." He then moved over farther to the metal piece and concentrated his Force energy on it. He shut his eyes tightly, his hands held up toward it, silently willing it to move upward. When it started to move slowly, Rex let out a wail of agony. The sound wrenched Anakin's innards.

"It's almost over, I've got it!" He tried to reassure the writhing Trooper. Rex didn't seem comforted at all, clawing the ground and gritting his teeth. Anakin tried not to look, knowing

that the sight of his friend and subordinate in such pain would distract him. Finally the sharp part of the ship slipped out of the gash and Anakin was able to send the chunk flying off in a different direction. The Trooper's ragged breathing was very fast and heavy, and even now he was still clawing at the ground. Anakin moved back up toward his head, pulling the helmet off to let him breathe easier.

"It's alright, just relax." He mumbled. Rex glanced at him, trying to slow his breathing, and pointed over to the partially intact cockpit.

"Just let me be for a minute.. I'm okay... Th-the other Trooper's still in there." Anakin looked up and darted over to the rest of the cockpit. He was able to pry open the partially broken doors and get inside, but from one glance he knew he was too late. The trooper hadn't made it. Anakin examined the body, finding the neck broken completely. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment.

"You did good.." He murmured, knowing that his words were going unheard. Somehow, it made him feel better though. "Thank you." He said finally, after a long pause and put a hand on the dead trooper's shoulder for a minute before turning and prying the doors open again, stepping back out into the grass. Rex was lying where Anakin had left him, and had passed out from shock. Anakin ran over to him and kneeled down, brushing the pieces of shattered armor off of Rex's leg and ripping a piece off of the bottom of his own tunic to tie around the trooper's leg. Once he was satisfied with his work, sure that the bloodflow had been stopped, Anakin pulled Rex up and put one of his limp arms over his shoulders to hold him up, then made his way back to where Obi-wan and Ahsoka were. Obi-wan got up to help Ankin with the unconcious trooper when he came back through the undergrowth, and Kameron would have too, if Ahsoka had not snatched his arm and told him to take it easy.

"Where's the other one?" Ahsoka asked her master as he and Obi-wan layed Rex down in the grass. Anakin merely gave her a look and she bowed her head.

"I see.." She mumbled softly. Kameron swallowed hard, feeling a little sick again. Anakin and Obi-wan both sat down simultaneously, and for a very long time, everyone was silent, each with their own thoughts on the current situation.

Ahsoka wished she could cry about this being so unfair and pound her fists on the ground like a young child but she knew very well she was far too old for that. She held back her emotions, banishing them from clouding her thoughts, and wondered how long it would take for the Republic to find them... If they ever did. Kameron felt near the same way, folding his arms over his stomach as he began to feel qualms of sickness again. Silently he swallowed the lump in his throat and forbade his gut to misbehave.

Obi-wan tried to still his frayed nerves, somehow keeping calm, but even though his Jedi ideals and training were enough to keep him serene, he was nervous. This planet was like none other he'd ever read about or seen, and as such had no idea what they might have to be up against in the time they would spend here. As for Anakin, he had his arms crossed tightly, thinking only about their attackers and whether or not they might follow them down onto the planet's surface to ensure they were dead. They would stand no chance against the enemy if they had no ship to attack back with.

All of them thought deeply, excepting Rex who was totally zonked. It was only a few minutes later when the bright sun of the planet's system began to sink below the trees that anyone said anything.

"We can't stay here." Obi-wan suddenly said. Anakin glanced at him and mumbled,

"He's right, they might come looking for us.. They would spot us immediately out here in the open. We have a better chance of survival if we abandon the crash site.. Let's go see if we can salavge anything from the ship that we might need before we go into the forest." He pushed himself up from his sitting position and stood slowly, dusting himself off, heading back toward the large broken remains of the ship. Obi-wan watched him for a minute, then lowered his gaze to the ground. Ahsoka glanced up at him as she stood.

"What's wrong, master?" She asked. He was quiet for a moment, and stood up as well, then replied,

"Well, there is a great chance that this planet is not uninhabited. There may indeed be natives; If they turn out to be hostile that won't be good for us." As he walked with Ahsoka toward the ship, where Anakin was already climbing in. Ahsoka glanced at the thick surrounding trees with newfound interest, thinking deeply. Kameron sat beside Rex for a minute, then got up, following them loyally. They hadn't been much more than a couple of yards form the wreckage, he would be fine in the grass for a minute. When Kameron arrived at the broken piece of the ship which Anakin had long disppeared into, he suddenly heard the Jedi shout,

"Hey Kam, think fast!" Something then came flying out of the open end of the ship, and Kameron caught it a little clumsily. It was his helmet. Anakin stood in the tilted open gap and smiled.

"Just thought you might want that back." Kameron looked up at him and smiled back.

"Thank you sir." He muttered, putting it back on since he didn't have anywhere else to put it. He reached up, clasping his hands onto the wall of the ship and pulled himself inside. The inner part of the ship seemed perfectly intact, albeit a bit dented and warped from such a rough landing. Anakin was checking small compartments under the seats for anything that might be useful, and Kameron wandered in farther.. The whole ship was tilted to the right, leaning on the tree, so he had to balance himself between the floor and the wall, mostly standing on the left wall as opposed to the floor. He santered into the ship, heading toward the back where the storage should be. He'd not even taken more than a few steps before there was a sudden, loud cracking groaning noise and the wall gave out beneath him, falling open and sending him tumbling out of the side of the ship.

"WwwaaAAH!" He shouted as he did something reminiscent of a very ungraceful cartwheel and ended up back in the grass, on his back once again. Anakin and Ahsoka, who were inside of the ship rushed to the open hole to see if he was okay. Obi-wan was still outside of the ship so he came round the side to help Kameron up. Kameron, however, could barely breathe; His whole body shook with silent laughter. As Obi-wan helped him up, he let out a loud stream of chuckles, dusting himself off and shaking his head.

"You know, I'm starting to feel like this thing doesn't like me.." He muttered between giggles. Ahsoka laughed softly as well, and Anakin grinned.

"Well now we know to be careful." He replied and gingerly stepped over the hole, careful of where he was stepping. Obi-wan looked up at the sky, a little concerned with the position of the sun and the small dots that were appearing in the bright blueness.

"We need to hurry. Either those little specks up there are either very large birds or our pursuers.. And if we're to set up camp, we need to do it before the sun sets.." He climbed into the ship through the hole Kameron had made, and went with the other two to search the cargo hold for useful items. After his little incident, Kameron decided to go back and sit with Rex.

The captain had come back to reality by that time and was partially sitting up, leaning back on his elbows in the grass. Kam trudged through the grass, and it parted for him as he sat down again, crosslegged, next to the other clone.

"You okay..?" He asked softly. Rex looked at him without turning his head and replied,

"Yeah, it'll take a lot more to really get me... But now I think I might just end up being a hinderance to you and the Jedi." He shut his mouth tightly, lips forming a straight line. Kameron smiled.

"Nah, we won't be here very long, I'm sure.. You just rest and we'll take care of everything." He murmured. Suddenly Anakin called out,

"You two, we're ready, let's get out of here!" Kam got up.

"Alright, take my hand." He said, holding his hand down to Rex who grasped it and Kameron pulled him up off the ground. Doing as Anakin had before, he placed Rex's arm around his shoulders and the captain used his good leg to balance himself on the ground enough to be albe to move forward if he limped.

The two came to join the three Jedi just as the noise of the ships became prominent.

"Let's get out of here, there's not much time left.." Ahsoka said and pushed the large ferns aside to get through into the trees; She held the ferns out of the way for the others to pass through as well, and soon enough all of them were trekking through the dense jungle at a pretty good pace. In the trees there was barely any sunlight, but the luminous fungi lit the darkness considerably. The air was denser as well, very humid but not stifling; almost like walking through thick, invisible fog. The grass now gave way on the ground for mossy roots of trees, only sticking up in small patches where dirt still was.

Although it seemed they were alone, the cries of wild animals, buzzing and chirping of bugs, and twittering of birds told them that they were not; This planet most obviously had a very full ecosystem.

None of them forgot their circumstances though, and looked up at the thick canopy of leaves occasionally as if worrying that those over them would be able to see through when the noise of the ships passed over them. The ships seemed to circle the crash site about four times, and then went in a wider circle. Finally they returned to the crash site and the noise began to die down... Not in a way that seemed like they were leaving, but more like a sound of landing.

"Master.." Ahsoka said uneasily, but Anakin just kept going.

"Easy Snips, just geep going.. They won't venture out too far.." He reassured her and they continued to make their way through the trees. Ahsoka's sensitive montrals continued to pick up sounds that did NOT seem to be in their favor though, and when the loud clanking sound of battle droids being unloaded on the surface of the planet reached them, she looked at Anakin with a very anxious look.

"Master!" She said more urgently. He looked at her with an expression that clearly stated, "I get it, just be quiet". She shut her mouth tightly and found herself growing even more anxious as the sound of droids walking forward began to get closer. Kameron now looked at Ahsoka, equally nervous. Finally Anakin and Obi-wan exchanged a look.

"We can't fight back, that will give us away.. " Obi-wan murmured, and Anakin sighed heavily.

"We should hide.. They won't hang around forever." Obi-wan nodded in agreement and motioned for Kameron and Rex to follow him. Ahsoka nad Anakin ran off together and started to climb a tree. Obi-wan led the two troopers off to the side, and almost fell right into a well concealed indent made by roots. Upon further inspection it seemed the huge crevice lead to a hollow beneath the tree. He crawled in, checking it out to be sure it was safe enough, then motioned for the other two to come in. Kameron helped Rex get down into the hole, and half climbed half fell into it himself.

Anakin and Ahsoka were high up in the tree, so far that the branches below them covered them from sight if anyone on the ground were to look up.

All five of them held their breath as the stark, imposing figures of the battle droids made their way through the forest, crushing the grass beneath their mechanical feet and making a noise like a herd of huge beasts. The tension was killer- Kameron was biting his lip so hard he nearly drew blood. But they were hidden safely away and the battle droids, with their little intelligence, didn't find them.

When the battle droids began to move on, a loud clicking sound suddenly filled the air. Ahsoka's skin prickled from the sound, and her pupils dialated. She looked over at her master who was sitting on a branch close to her. He obviously felt it too; some kind of ripple in the Force as if something very angry with a lot of Force energy was approaching. Obi-wan let out a deep breath, sensing it as well. The clicking grew louder and suddenly ended in a snapping hiss, as if some great animal was clacking it's jaws as it hissed. Obi-wan let out his held breath very slowly, waiting for something else to happen. The clanking of the droids hadn't gotten too far before an earsplitting feline roar erupted and the sound of blasters shooting started up. All five of them waited tensely, hearing another roar and the sudden sound of metal bending and snapping, clanking together and being ripped apart. Some battle droids were shouting desperate orders and trying to retreat, but soon it went silent, all except for a soft hissing/clicking, and after a few minutes that too faded away.

Anakin and Ahsoka were breathing heavily, and they exchanged a look akin to being apalled.

"Good call Snips.." Anakin murmured very softly, referring to her having taken notice of the droids. She wanted to smile, but found herself unable to make the expression.

Obi-wan, Rex and Kameron were all three huddled together, both troopers nearly scared out of their wits. The Jedi had a bad feeling deep in his gut about whatever had destroyed those droids.. He hoped against hope that it was gone far away now and that they wouldn't find themselves up against it. Kameron was tempted to just stay in the hollow rather than go back out there, but knew that they'd eventually have to. After about 10 minutes they started to emerge from their hiding places, Anakin climbing down from his perch and Obi-wan poking his head out of the hole before climbing out and helping Rex get out. Ahsoka jumped from branch to branch until she reached the bottom, and Kameron finally sighed and crawled out of the hole. Wordlessly they made their way through a tall patch of grass, avoiding the now brightly glowing fungi and stopped at the site of the battle. There were no droids left intact.

"Whatever that thing was, let's hope that it doesn't come back.." Anakin murmured.


	2. Lost And Found

Rex stared into the busily crackling flames of the fire that the others had built as he hastily used a pocket knife to scrape away at a stick, making a crude spear. Might as well.. He needed a walking stick and if it could double as a crude weapon to use should they come across an unfriendly critter that was all the better. Kameron trudged back through the underbrush with Ahsoka, both of them carrying some more wood that had fallen onto the forest floor from the branches above. Kameron tossed some of the wood onto the fire, setting the rest of it down in a pile and sitting crosslegged, poking at the fire with a stick. Ahsoka put her wood down in the pile as well but didn't sit.

"Where did Master Anakin and Obi-wan go?" She asked, looking around. Rex was very enthralled in his work and didn't look up until a moment later.

"Hm? Oh, they're up there." He pointed up with his stick, and she looked up as well, smiling to see the two older Jedi sitting in one of the branches of the huge trees surrounding their campsite. Finally she sat down too, stroking the soft moss that grew on the large roots that formed the clearing. It seemed to feel her Force energy and bent toward her hand, longer pieces of it curling around her fingers gently. She blinked, making a confused face.

"This place is so odd. If there are sentients living here I can't imagine what they're like." As she said this, she felt a sudden ripple in the energy around her- much like the feeling she'd had when she'd heard the creature that had destroyed the droids. Instantly she was on guard. Rex looked at her as if to silently ask her what was wrong, and Kameron, noticing the other trooper look in her direction, did so too.

"What is it?" He was the one to ask the question aloud, but kept his voice quiet when he spoke.

"I think we're being watched..." She put her hand on her lightsaber, but didn't take it from her belt just yet. For a while she sat rigidly, waiting. Kameron felt tense, not worried or frightened yet either but tense enough to silently ask Rex for the pocket knife and start fervently carving a spear of his own out of one of the sticks he'd collected.

Finally Ahsoka relaxed.

"Okay I think it's gone.." Her body relaxed visibly, shoulders dropping and fingers unclenching but Kameron continued to make a spear, eager to have a weapon as well now since they hadn't been able to recover a blaster from the wreckage for either of the troopers.

Anakin and Obi-wan had felt it too but didn't come down from their perch, having a good view of most of the surrounding area from their branch.. That which was not covered by thick undergrowth that was. If something was approaching they could warn the others before it got to them.

"I won't be able to sleep tonight." Anakin said quietly. Obi-wan sighed and leaned back on his arms, looking up at the trees' leaves, sparkling in the firelight with the dew from the thick fog that was now rolling in.

"Well we can't all try to sleep at once anyway, someone needs to keep watch." He replied. Anakin sighed heavily, blowing it out through his nose.

"It'll be kind of hard to see once this fog sets in, but I suggest we just take turns. Between you, Kameron, Ahsoka and I we should all be able to get some sleep. In the morni-" He stopped abruptly, biting his bottom lip and closing his eyes, body going stiff. "What just landed on my shoulder?"

A little dark blue-purple creature with insect-like wings, two little legs ending in two toed feet, a long tail and one large round black eye settled down on Anakin's shoulder, wrapping its tail around his shoulderguard and beginning to preen its wings with its little ant-like mandibles. Obi-wan stared at it for a second.

"I have no idea." He said honestly, watching it with amused fascination as it finished preening and settled down again, ruffling its four wings. It looked at Obi-wan as if considering a change of perch, but then turned its round head away as if to reject him. Anakin opened one eye, looked over at the little creature and raised a brow.

"What the _heck_ is that thing..?" He asked, completely ignoring Obi-wan's statement that he 'had no idea'. The critter began to make a warbling chirping noise and leaned on Anakin's head.

"I think it likes you." Obi-wan began to smile slightly, watching Anakin's look of confusion turn to one of unamusement.

"Well it can keep _you_ company." He tentatively lifted a hand up to the creature, as if afraid it might bite him. The little critter was surprisingly friendly though and hopped onto his hand, unraveling its tail from around his shoulderguard. Anakin then lowered his hand to the branch and the creature hopped off.

"Because you're keeping watch first." He said and began to climb back down to the campsite. Obi-wan smiled a little and settled back, leaning on the trunk of the tree. The little creature seemed to be over its prejudice now that Anakin was gone and fluttered up onto his shoulder, beginning to preen itself again.

Anakin dropped down from the lowest branch and landed on his feet in the grass.

"How's everybody doing?" He asked. Ahsoka looked up at him and smiled a bit.

"Fine considering this is as good as it's going to get." She said. Kameron was still scraping away at his stick, and had created a pretty big pile of wood shavings near his feet and Anakin sauntered over to sit by him, crosslegged in the grass. Kameron didn't seem to notice him, or was ignoring him because he didn't even glance over or say anything. Anakin didn't have a problem with that and reached over to grab a stick of his own and poke at the cheerily crackling fire.

"What should we do in the morning?" He asked no one in particular. Since it seemed no one else had any suggestions to offer, Ahsoka spoke up.

"Maybe we can look for some kind of civilization.. Like, people." She began. "Master Kenobi and I were speaking about this earlier- if there are people here there may be a chance that they're hostile, but there's also a chance that they're not. I.. Think we should take that chance." She finished slowly. Anakin thought for a minute or two, and mumbled,

"I think you're right.. I'm not sure how long we can survive out here all by ourselves." He leaned backward onto the trunk of the massive tree, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"In any case, we should get some sleep. I'll keep watch after Obi-wan, then Kameron can keep watch, and then you can." He opened one eye and nodded toward Ahsoka. She shrugged.

"Sounds like a plan.." She lay down on the soft moss and closed her eyes.

Obi-wan sat up in the tree. It had been almost three hours and he was growing tired. Even the little creature that was perched on his shoulder had dozed off and was emitting a soft snoring sound. He blinked a few times to clear his eyes, but the last one had been a longer blink than he'd intended and it was hard to open his eyes again. Finally he forced himself to re-awaken and sighed, beginning to climb down from the branch.

"Seems like my shift is over." The creature on his shoulder awoke as well and chirped at him sleepily, as if wondering why its perch was moving. Obi-wan smiled a bit and dropped to the ground carefully, making sure he didn't disturb the little critter too much. Everyone in the campsite was fast asleep, and the fire had dulled to a soft flame, little more than glowing embers. He sauntered over to Anakin and crouched down, shaking him awake. Anakin groaned slightly as he awoke, lifting a hand to rub his eyes.

"My turn already? I was just dreaming about sleeping in a bed.." He mumbled, shaking his head to wake himself up more. Obi-wan didn't reply, but smiled again and lay down in Anakin's place after the younger Jedi got up and walked over to climb up the tree. Anakin was more awake once he'd gotten into the tree and he entertained himself by taking a better look at the surroundings. With the fire so dim the forest had lit up more, exposing the faintly glowing rocks embedded in the ground and the bioluminescent fungi. He sighed and murmured,

"What I wouldn't give for a cup of coffee right now.." Yawning to sharpen his senses.. Suddenly he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand and his highly trained ears strained to hear something that he hadn't previously been concious of... It sounded like some kind of rustling in the branches above him. He carefully put a hand on his lightsaber, but stayed stationary, giving whatever it was a chance before getting defensive. Not everything here was as vicious as the beast that had destroyed the droids- he'd become aware of that from his little critter friend which was now sleeping on Obi-wan's shoulder. Quietly he waited, and the noise stopped. Everything was silent and one would assume that whatever had been there was gone, but the prickle on his skin was not explained until he glanced over to a dark patch in the trees wherethe leaves thinned a bit. He drew in his breath and tensed. Four figures, unmistakably humanoid were crouched on a limb, hanging onto the trees in somewhat of a feral way- like they had lived in the woods their whole lives and knew how to climb through trees like the animals. Anakin noticed that two of them were holding long sticks that he assumed were spears, and the other two had short but sharp daggers. Their silhouettes in the faint light showed that they were adorned with clothing- a sure sign of sentience.. Though their clothing didn't seem civilized enough to be much more than tribal as they seemed only to be wearing loincloths and other accessories like feathers and beads. The four, feminine in shape, moved in a manner as if they were conversing, using hand gestures and head movements. They were too far away for Anakin to hear anything they might have been saying, but he didn't care.. He just hoped they didn't see him. Slowly he sank backward, trying to slide downward and off of the branch to get down to the campsite and warn the others. Suddenly he heard a loud rustle from the natives' direction and he was somewhat surprised to see all four of them looking straight at him, bright eyes glittering in the darkness. He gasped and half fell half jumped down the branches. Clumsily he stumbled onto the ground in the campsite and ran to Obi-wan, shaking him awake.

"Get up! We have company." He said.. Obi-wan didn't need any more to be said and was up and awake within two seconds. Quickly he got up, the creature on his shoulder screeching and fluttering into the air, landing on a small overhanging branch to watch as the strange visitors woke eachother from their sleep. Rex jolted awake at the noise the other two were making as they woke up Ahsoka and Kameron. Ahsoka looked at Anakin in confusion.

"What's wrong?" She asked, getting up and reaching for her lightsaber but he lifted a hand as if to tell her to stop.

"Turns out we don't need to look for the natives, I think they found us." As he said this the natives arrived at their campsite, and Anakin, Obi-wan, Ahsoka and Kameron moved over closer to Rex, ready to protect him and themselves if need be. The silhouettes in the tree climbed down like cats, grace and fluidity in their movements as they slunk down from branch to branch and finally dropped down onto the forest floor, where both the soft light from the glowing embers in the fire and the bioluminescent fungi illuminated their features. The natives were pretty, with light blue skin and large slanted eyes that ranged from brown to green-grey. They had a humanoid shape, but were far taller than the normal human- perhaps if they had been standing up straight they would have reached about 7 or 8 feet. They crept across the clearing toward the strangers, weapons held in an non offensive manner, demeanor quiet and curious. The one in front with short white hair, obviously the leader, crept forward in a half crawling half walking sort of way very slowly and tentatively, her pupils dilated and eyes wide. Her long pointed ears flicked backward slightly, then forward as if to take in the sounds the strangers made. Anakin breathed deeply, crouching down but standing his ground though he was equally as curious. Obi-wan was next to Rex and the two of them stayed very still as one of the others, a darker skinned hunter with dark blue braided hair and brown eyes came forward to meet them, reaching out to place a hand on Rex's shoulderguard, tentatively feeling the armor. None of the natives had ever seen an outsider before, and were more curious than afraid. Their world was so untouched by the civilization offworld that they werent even afraid to approach the strange new creatures that had made this spot their home. The other two, not quite as adventurous stayed behind, unsure whether they should meet the foreigners or not. They worried that the strangers might not be friendly like their people were.. Finally the youngest one, who had very long green hair came forward with the other two. She admired Ahsoka's montrals and skin color from afar, as well as Kameron and Rex's armour. The ghost of an amused smile flickered across her face. The white-haired leader, who had stood up to her impressive full height in front of Anakin, spear now slung over her shoulder, was the first to speak.

"Tzetahma te'wa antazhuko Iknima (Hello and welcome, Friend).." She said and held out her hand, palm facing him. It was a greeting used by her people, in which the two middle fingers were placed together while the others and two thumbs were spread out. Anakin felt like an idiot, trying to figure out what it was she was trying to do, but he could not. She waited for a reply, then blinked when she did not get one. She was confused. Could these strange little creatures not speak? She moved her hand toward him, as if saying he should return the greeting. Anakin finally began to get it and looked at her hand then his, then raised it tentatively. He had difficulty getting his fingers to move the way hers could, but when he successfully made the greeting, she smiled softly and gave a silent glance to her fellow hunters. Obviously the outsiders were not wise in their native etiquette, but as she looked over at Kameron who had come to stand nearby, seeing he was studying his hand and trying to make the sign as well she concluded that they seemed willing to learn. She took a step or two toward Kameron and bent down, taking his hand and putting his fingers in the correct position for him. He looked up at her, surprised, then relaxed when he saw she was smiling warmly. Suddenly she glanced back at her hunting partners and make a clicking sound at them, very reminiscent of the one the five had heard before finding the destroyed droids. All of them had the same thought at once: Were these the creatures that had destroyed those battle droids? They definitely looked like they had potential to deal some serious damage, even to machinery simply with brute force, but they didn't look like they could take that many all by themselves.. Obi-wan gave Anakin a "maybe-it's-just-coincidence?" look, and Anakin shrugged before the natives suddenly began heading off through the underbrush. The white haired one turned and beckoned for them to follow, the others pausing and waiting for her.

"Perhaps they have a village nearby. Anakin, you help Rex. Ahsoka, Kameron and I will take up the rear." Obi-wan said. Anakin nodded and ran over to help Rex to his feet. While he couldn't quite stand by himself, Rex could use the spear he'd created like a walking stick, and as such wouldn't have to place all of his weight on Anakin. The lead hunter hadn't realised that they had an injured person with them and immediately went to them to offer help. Anakin smiled a bit and held up one hand, successfully telling her that he could take care of Rex. She smiled as well and nodded in understanding, walking forward while talking to her hunting partners.

"Me'we chu, zhaki qohrey lolope (Be slow, one of the guests is injured)." She said and the others nodded. Ahsoka stamped out the embers of their once bright fire, then entrusted the rain -which was now starting to fall- to cool it off. Anakin and Rex followed the natives as they disappeared into the underbrush and Kamron, Obi-wan and Ahsoka were quick to follow. Suddenly the white haired leader stopped and turned, making a loud chirping noise. The little winged creature that had been forgotten in the commotion looked up from its perch on the branch and took flight, soaring through the clearing and over to her, landing on her outstretched arm.

"Tzetahma, Mohu (Hello, Mohu).." She cooed, scratching the back of its head. It made something of a purring noise and crawled up to cling on her shoulder. She then starting walking again. Anakin looked over his shoulder at Obi-wan and grinned.

"Seems like they weren't looking for us.. I think that she lost her pet and found us instead." He said. The older Jedi grinned back at him.

"Pure luck, huh?" He said and Anakin chuckled very slightly as he turned his attention forward again.

A huge Seperatist battleship hovered in orbit above the beautiful planet, menacing and dark against the brightness of the blue-green orb. Within the ship stood General Grievous. The mostly droid General had not felt this way in a very long time- he was eager to get on that planet.. Eager to experience its wilderness firsthand. For the fist time in a long time he almost felt like he could escape these confinements and slip back into his element again..

He slowly crossed his arms behind his back and stared out the window at the blue and green planet. Finally he turned and stalked away from the window, unwilling to look at it anymore. He knew it would be painful to have to leave when the battle was over, but for now he merely enjoyed the ability to actually anticipate something that he deemed worthwhile. Perhaps he might even be able to convince Count Dooku that funding a Seperatist base on the planet would benefit their cause. Then it would be claimed and he might be able to visit it more often.. It was worth a try. Grievous figured that Dooku might be in a good enough mood after the Jedi on the planet were eliminated to support the notion.

"Are the preparations to go onworld ready?" He asked a battle droid that was standing in front of a huge monitor as he walked up the stairs to the platform it was on.

"Yes sir, we are ready to depart at any time." It replied and Grievous unfolded his arms from behind his back and clenched one fist, smirking inwardly.

"Very good."

Entering the village seemed like entering a Rancor's den at first. The native women themselves were not perturbed by the critical gazes of the figures crouched in the shadowy branches above them, but all five of the outsiders felt somewhat chilled by the silhouettes which were all armed with spears and knives. Loud echoing cries in the strange, exotic language pierced the air above them and the rustling of leaves signified that the sentries were moving. Kameron gripped his crude spear tightly, hoping against hope that the natives weren't just trying to lure them into a trap and exterminate them when they let their guard down. He never tried to think the worst of people, but under the current circumstances he couldn't help but be a little on edge. Ahsoka glanced at him and smirked a bit, immediately knowing what he was thinking. She had been thinking the same thing, and she assumed the other three were as well. Kameron looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Her smirk silently communicated that if the natives did try to hurt them they would be ready and able to get away. But as they entered the village, the curious and welcoming shouts in the strange language let them know caution was not needed. Immediately all the small, scrawny little children in the vicinity ran over to the huntresses and clung to their legs, grinning up at them playfully. Some of the smallest ones even crawled up their bodies to sit on their shoulders.

"Teyuhe! Too ki ruwa, teyuhe! (Huntress! What did you catch, huntress!)" A little short haired girl shouted as she jumped down from a large glowing fungi she'd been sitting on. The glowing spores had dusted her skin and her feet left illuminated footprints on the ground as she made her way over to the white-haired leader. The huntress smiled softly and bent down to pick her up, swinging her around playfully before putting her up on her other shoulder. The little creature, Mohu, crawled over to the laughing child and nuzzled her.

Obi-wan couldn't repress a smile and when he glanced over at Anakin and Rex it seemed neither of them could either.

"Su awala morcha, ki'i. For rhe'j ta puru k'mi. (These people are visitors, young lady. Mind your manners now.)" The huntress said softly and began to walk again, carrying the young girl on her shoulders. After such a display of affection it was hard to see the natives as much of a threat and both the Troopers and Jedi found themselves able to relax.

The village itself was not on the ground, but in the trees.. The grove that the natives had chosen as their home ran like a network above their heads, with large platforms created by the interjoining tangle of gigantic branches and bridgeways to other platforms- also created by the limbs. The action and commotion above them signified that most of the village's goings on happened up there... And that was probably where they were going as well. The little girl on the huntress's shoulders grabbed onto an overhanging branch as the older woman walked under it and climbed up off her shoulders, nimbly beginning to scale the tree. The other huntresses had left to do sentry duty, but the white haired one had stayed- she had taken it upon herself to take care of the visitors and ensure that the tribe became accustomed to their prescence.

"Tchu'wa mah. (Follow me.)" She said and motioned for them to follow before grasping some vines that had grown around the tree and climbing up. Obi-wan looked to Rex.

"Can you make it up there?" He asked. Rex glanced at his leg, which still ached, but the makeshift bandage that Anakin had placed around his would had stopped the bleeding.

"It won't be pleasant, but I'll live." He muttered and Obi-wan nodded.

"Allright then, let's go meet the rest of them.. Ahsoka and Kameron go ahead, Anakin and I can assist Captain Rex- we'll be along shortly." He said.

Ahsoka was quick to jump onto the tree, climbing up it nimbly like a cat. Kameron then took his turn at the climb, gripping the vines tightly and making his way up the tree. He wasn't as nimble as the Padawan, but was able to reach the top without much difficulty. Getting Rex up the tree was a little more tricky. Not being able to really utilize one leg slowed the process down quite a bit, but after a few minutes all of them had reached the top safely. The huntress was telling a small crowd that had gathered to see the newcomers to disperse, and when she had successfully shooed them away -if only for a little while- she again motioned for them to follow her.

As they walked through the village it became clear that the natives had very little use for actual shelter, as their small sleeping huts consisted of a thin inner frame of sticks to form a dome shape, and covered with large leaves to keep the rain off. The entire place was decorated with windchimes and paintings of what appeared to be the natives' legends covered the tree trunks. The huts and small campfires placed around near the trunks of the trees were bustling with activity and life. Small children ran and played freely wherever they wanted, climbing up branches and running in an out of other people's huts. Many adults went about their business, playing with some of the children and feeding small animals that appeared to be tamed as pets. It seemed that everyone in the village shared their belongings with eachothe, and as such there was no need for quarreling over whose item was whose, and where something belonged.. Obi-Wan took in all the details of the village keenly, cataloging it in his mind, eager to learn about this baffling new species. Of what he'd seen of them so far, they seemed to be a very friendly, passive and carefree people, naive toward the evils of outsiders and willing to trust any new face. They also didn't seem to fear other sentient species on first contact like some aliens did. They were an intriguing people indeed.. He could only imagine the reaction the Republic would have upon hearing of them.

The huntress stopped walking when they had passed through the busiest part of the village, and come to a large branch platform that held more huts, though these were not quite as active. She approached one of the huts and sat down by the small fire, picking up a stick that lay nearby to poke at it and stir the hot orange coals. Ahsoka was the first to sit down by the fire as well, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Rex following her lead shortly afterward. Kameron was still standing though, looking back at the busy village, then up at the canopy where the sound of trickling raindrops emanated from, then came over to sit as well, happy to be next to a fire again. For a while everything was quiet, and Kameron chewed on the end of the finger of his glove, as if he were trying to bite his fingernail. Finally the huntress stood and went inside the hut, returning a minute or two later with a small grass woven basket. She pulled out a bright purple leaf and leaned over toward Rex, putting it into his mouth, which he had opened slightly to let out a sigh. He pulled back a bit, feeling somewhat unsettled but a stern look from the huntress kept him from spitting it out. She reached back to her basket and took out a little leather pouch and, after pouring the fine powdery contents into her palm, again turned back to Rex and began untying the bandage Anakin had applied to his leg wound earlier. Once done she sprinkled some of the dust into the open but no longer bleeding wound. Rex did his best not to wince for it stung badly for the first few moments, but then the pain began to dissipate due to the substance that the lady had placed in it and Rex was able to relax. Quietly the huntress retied the bandage around his leg and took the leaf from his mouth, putting her medical supplies back into the basket and returning the basket to the hut.

While she was busy a few small children from the busier half of the village had climbed up in the branches above the outsiders and their campfire, chattering to eachother eagerly and excitedly.

"Dou! So ka wer'eema int'chin rhame'rpu sowan taka svrenu'ti szakaru! Mo te ramu tu're anmatahi do se, muka tset'mara nutrek in'jeraru! Mou re'mu ta en hakaru'mi, szakaru (Yes! I am no liar, the visitors are like spirits, all strange! One of them has striped horns, and two have a white outer shell! And the other two have strange, pink skin)!" It was the young girl from earlier, who the huntress had played with. With her now were two little boys and another girl, all worked up and excited about seeing the strangers. When the other little children finally laid eyes on the strangers, they all gasped and twittered, pointing and getting even more excited. Ahsoka looked up at them and smiled warmly, not particularly enjoying being in the spotlight, but the children were so cute it was hard not to smile. She then looked to Obi-wan, expecting him to be watching the children too, but instead he was sitting crosslegged, in a classic Jedi meditation pose.

"What are you doing?" She asked, since he seemed to be having some difficulty.

"I'm trying to interpret the language so we can know what they're saying.. But.. This place is so filled with raw Force energy that it's somewhat difficult to focus on it.." He murmured softly, but finally lifted his gaze toward the children, pausing a moment before grinning.

"They're saying that we look funny." He said, and Ahsoka held back a giggle.

"Well this is probably their first contact with outsiders like ourselves, so I can see why they'd think that." She said and extended her arms towards the fire to warm her hands. Suddenly the huntress re-emerged from the hut and came to sit by the fire, next to Kameron. He looked at her out of the corners of is eyes but said nothing and did nothing. He was, needless to say, a little unsettled at her being so close, but then again he had come to trust the natives a lot better than he initially had so wasn't too on edge. The huntress seemed perfectly relaxed though, and as he watched her subtlety, he began to relax as well. For a while all of them sat around the fire in silence, the only noises being the busy flames eating away at the wood that fed the fire, and the children overhead who were still bantering back and forth.

Suddenly the huntress rose and stretched.

"Em'me woru kou meya.. Tche'ta.. Ibe're inqi de aru'ruwa murupa de retaka, che'raru merqre (I'm beginning to feel tired.. Goodnight.. Feel free to sleep by the fire or in one of the huts, it is safe here)." To Obi-wan, who had established a connection with the natives' language, the message was clear, and he nodded. The huntress paused for a moment upon seeing him nod, wondering if he somehow had begun to understand what she was saying. Quietly though, she sauntered into her hut and did not re-emerge.

A few minutes later Ahsoka was still watching the children overhead, who had seemed to calm a bit, and soon enough they descended from their spot up high and came down to the branch-platform. They were now very close to the visitors, and seemed to be debating whether or not they should approach them. For what seemed like a long time the small group lingered around nearby, and finally the least shy of them, the young girl who seemed quite fond of their huntress friend, approached and smiled at Kameron, who was closest to her.

"Dou fee'wa ha'hu kirim jute, bewanu'a morkl'iu ju he (You look kind of like us, but a little different)." She said, squatting down to sit not even two feet away from him. Kameron felt a little stupid, being talked to and not understanding a word. For a minute he was quiet, and the girl pursed her lips, huffing at him slightly.

"I.. I don't understand.." Kameron said softly, frowning a bit. The girl's smile returned as she took one of his hands and held it up, placing her own palm on his. Her hand was smaller than his, but Kameron noticed that the natives' hands had the same basic shape as a humanoid's albeit with an extra thumb. He smiled very slightly, starting to get her meaning. However he was surprised when she sat down right next to him and leaned on him, closing her eyes and getting comfortable. Ahsoka stifled a chuckle and leaned back on her arms.

"I think you have a little friend now." She commented before laying back and rolling on her side, noticing that Anakin and Rex both had already laid down too and were nearly asleep. Kameron smiled, shaking his head softly and nudged the little girl, who let him lay down before leaning on him again. Obi-wan was the last to settle down, and as he did the other children came over tentatively to snuggle up near the fire for the night. Not long after they had fallen asleep, the rest of the village became quiet as the inhabitants hunkered down for the night, and the only noise was the softly crackling fire that shed a dim light on those who slept around it..


End file.
